


Blinding Light

by chandlerinabox



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angel Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Angels, Biblical References, M/M, Mentions of Armin and Mikasa, One Shot, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 07:05:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15383325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chandlerinabox/pseuds/chandlerinabox
Summary: Eren is dead. Levi is the one to collect him.Oneshot/pretty heavy on the religious references.





	Blinding Light

In a barren town, where dust lived in the air and red painted the skies, lay a man.

This man was dead. His life, gone-dedicated to the eradication of the walking threats found crawling the mortal plane.

Above him, in a plane beyond any physical boundary or imagery, a spirit darted out and down into the mortal plane where this man lay.

The spirit wisped its way down in a gentle hush, as to not disturb the physical heavens. It raced through clouds of gas and debris until a simple planet of blue and green was in its mindsight. It dipped, leaving no trace of its heavenly fire that seemed to burn its core, to fuel it. When it reached the atmosphere, it merely guided itself through the clouds and mist as if they weren’t there.

Closer and closer it dropped, until the town, and eventually the very street where the man lay-came into the spirit’s presence. Upon reaching the man, a great, yet quiet rush filled the area. Despite the rouse, no other human could detect a spirit’s arrival. Mortality placed a blindfold onto such human souls.

Out of the dust rose a pale form, dressed in white robes that seemed to be untouched by the blood of war in the area. The form had short hair, parted in the middle and was darker than the void. The eyes were blue, as blue as an afternoon sky. The form was shorter than most humans, but this did not concern the spirit. It preferred a male form as well as its visage, and in doing so, was named _Levi_. It had been the name that was bestowed upon him, by Him infinitely ago. But angels weren’t called by their names.

The eyes saw the man, and they widened. He had hair the color of mud, a sharp nose, closed eyes. His skin was a deep olive, though covered in spills of blood, was still shining in the setting sun. In an instant, Levi felt it.

He remembered this man.

\---

Some time ago (though, to angels-time was obsolete. A natural flow of God’s very will, nothing to be feared) , Levi dropped to mortal plane, to a war torn town, rotting away from the stench of death. Many angels had come here.

Upon arriving at the place were he was called, he saw that it lay in wreckage. He knew he had to go inside of what remained.

The roof was half crushed, sinking into the house. The door was gone, the walls crumbling. There was no need to ask what had happened.

He turned to his right. There he saw what he had come for-a young woman, her hair falling loosely out of a ponytail as her head bent forward, her face not visible to Levi.

This didn’t matter to him. She was in between what remained of the wall and the crushed roof. A quick, merciful death.

There was no point in staying for observation.

He walked over to her, the concept of walking unusual but pleasant for Levi every time he did so. His fingers nearly grazed her forehead when he heard a voice. It was human, and by the sound of the tones, it belonged to a young boy. It seemed to come from inside the once house. Levi turned his head back to the woman, his fingers bypassing her forehead and into her eternal soul, reaching out and pulling the very binding energy out of the body. He cradled the soul-though, not so much cradle, as souls had no physical form, so they seemed to manifest into the physical corpse they once inhabited. As was such with this woman.

He balanced her in his arms. He saw her face, as soft as any flower’s petal. The voice continued its calling, frightened and high-pitched. Levi’s own legs started in the direction of a nearby hole in what was left of the house.

His job was simply to collect the souls of the dead, nothing else. He could easily pay no mind to the environment around him. Despite this, he continued towards the source of the cry.

Angels do not sin. They are curious, but do not feel the holds of human sin-as is such with being a holy being. The exception was Lucifer, an angel who made his very downfall when he touched upon the unholy graces of the human sins when humanity was born. Levi’s actions were not of disobedience, but of something entirely else. He knew exactly what it was, too. There was no need to question it.

He stepped into the crumpled house, still carrying the resting soul of the woman. The soul never stirred, as was such with human souls for some time after death. Her eyes remained closed.

The house was dark and ashen, and a thick dust filled the air. Crushed splinters of wooden furniture lay scattered about. Levi even caught sight of a dented pan, bent in an odd shape. Broken glass lay in jagged pieces. Levi simply continued to a corner where the voice called out, not affected by the debris-he was immortal, after all.

He found a small boy, crying and wheezing. His arm was stuck under a fallen beam that was splintered in half. He thrashed in his bed, tears soaking his face. It did not miss Levi that the boy’s eyes were a brilliant mixture of greens and blues, a reflection of the ocean itself. Despite that, there lay an untamed fire… Despite the holy angels being regarded as the most beautiful, one sometimes forgot how beautiful God’s creations were...as such with the boy’s eyes. But he could not help him, and a bolt of tragedy ran through Levi's inner core.

This boy…

Clutching the woman’s soul in one hand, Levi reached one arm out...but he could not touch the boy’s face. Despite the circumstances, he was simply not destined to die here or now. Somehow, he would survive-even if death would seem more merciful.

Levi never doubted the fire that was there. As he turned away, he regarded to the heavens, where he would surely relieve this woman’s soul of mortal suffering...and where he would return, not as Levi in a human form but as the spirit, ethereal and unbound. He knew of the boy’s current suffering...but the angels of death were not to interfere. It was simply because it was-the strength of the human will was given by God, angels were not to interfere. He could not touch him or anything but the soul he had come for…

Pity was beyond an angel’s being, and yet...he felt the rush of knowing there was nothing he could do very greatly.

\---

And now, Levi had returned for the boy-now a grown man-to collect his soul. So he had survived...

An empty sleeve caught Levi's eye.So he was right...and that fire had not died then. But now, the boy’s-such a shame angels never learned the names of the mortal-eyes were closed, those ocean-like pearls to never see the world again.

Levi was not sad. He never was. It was time for a physical body to die for the soul to continue in Heaven. It was as God had written.

He bent down, clearing the hair from the man’s forehead, which were still dampened. His fingers lightly touched the olive skin, and the physical form of Levi shuddered-the collecting of a soul was an unimaginable process. The spirit of Levi registered this and tucked this away.

He grabbed the soul with both hands, showing no sign of struggle.

Levi stood up from his crouch. In his hands lay the soul of the man, who comfortably stayed in the crooks of Levi’s elbows. His form was the same as his body’s-not much of a surprise. But the shivers continued.

Angels did not feel the rot of sin-therefore, angels did not feel desire, be it sexual or otherwise. To desire would be to covet, and angels do not covet under the word of God.

But angels are curious.

In a split second frame, Levi-no, the mere spirit-imagined another possible universe, where the spirit existed in a mortal body as those as humans… ...and in it, he pictured meeting the man. A bare, unfocused pictured flashed...a distinct frame of that of a covenant. Levi did not wish that he could exist as a human, but in the existence of where the possibilities run off the track, seeing such frames were possible. But to collect was his duty. He felt no guilt or desire to be as a mortal human, even if he could picture such a life.

Before leaving the mortal plane, however, Levi’s hand extended and the tips of his fingers reached to touch the man’s cheek ever slightly. The word _covenant_ passed through Levi’s lips in a hushed whisper, in an unrecognizable human language. His eyes flashed with a holy light, then subdued into a glow. His fingers tiptoed down the man’s ethereal face, tracing unseen lines.

Instantly, Levi’s form disappeared from the street, away from the physical world, taking the soul of the unknown man with him.

\---

There is no ‘journey’ or road to Heaven. That being said, it did take some time to arrive there-the breach of mortal and eternal planes was a timely task, in the terms of time to humans. To angels, time was a perspective. Age came with the natural order of life. It was unstoppable, but being immortal, it had no pace.

Upon crossing these planes, Levi stood in an infinite blank page, still clutching the soul of the unknown man, his eyes unblinking. Levi chose not to change out of his mortal form, as to not disturb this soul. And for what seemed like a while, there was peace. No movement, just waiting.

Levi’s eyes blinked suddenly as the soul in his arms twitched. The eyes of the man opened. Levi’s eyes widened, and locked with the man’s.

There he saw what he had seen all that time ago-the blend of colors, untouched and untamed. It had not changed. He was surprised that the soul awoke, however. The early awakening of souls was considered unusual. Most souls rested until they reached Heaven’s doors.

Despite this, nothing was said. The man simply stared as Levi in awe- _perhaps he understood_.

Then his arm lifted. _Perhaps that understanding was fleeting_.

Levi did not react, only remaining stiff. The arm lifted, and the hand outstretched-to meet the physical form of Levi-cupping his face, curing against the cheek. In an instant, Levi crouched down so that the man lay leaning against his arm, while being propped up by the knee. Levi sat on the heel of his other foot, his knee now bent.

The man’s hand never left Levi’s face. Their eyes never left each other, either. Levi lifted his free hand to meet with the man’s-despite not having physical forms, their ethereal hands met, and Levi’s grasped the man’s as he cupped his face. The man froze, and all around Levi saw what seemed to be the memories of the man’s mortal life-sitting at a table with his parents, proclaiming with some wild gesture. His voice rang out loud and clear.

The scene changed, and Levi was met with the boy talking to another pair, one with wild blond hair and another both stark black hair. They were leaning over, poring over what appeared to be a large book. The scene changed again, and Levi saw what he had witnessed-the boy’s struggle against being trapped.

Then he saw what had happened after he left: the boy reaching for a knife on the floor and hacking away at the trapped limb…the tears raged on but the boy never stalled his movements. His eyes were fierce, fiercer than any fire. The shoulder ripped, and the arm was gnawed right out of its socket. He watched the boy with the dripping shoulder bolt outside and see the woman crumpled over, never to move again. The cries of anguish raked Levi’s ears as the boy howled.

The motion stopped and blackened before lighting up again. It was like one of those motion pictures, an invention humans created to pass the time. The boy was now dressed in a ragged, brown uniform. There was no blood, only mud covering his boots. Beside him stood his two companions-the blond and the one wearing a rose scarf. “You will never be a soldier. Not with one arm.” The booming voice broadcasted but was cut sharply by a scene where the boy was found to be doing an activity with one arm lifting himself off the ground again and again...another example of his fiery determination. He held a knife in his mouth. Sweat dripped from his head onto the floor, but the boy never ceased.

The boy then became a man-surrounded by the mounds of the dead, blood dripping from their decapitated necks. He had to grow up, his childhood sliced away as fast as the heads of those around him.

He didn’t react, at first. Then it hit.

The anger, no, the rage. Fueled by the fires of vengeful bloodlust that rivaled Satan’s own desires, an unhuman growl ripped through the battlefield. A shockwave vibrated through Levi’s form, clutching onto the man below. This was pure rage. Unstoppable, unquenchable, and all consuming. Righteous rage, they called it. Levi had seen many wars and bloodshed, the ire of the men who had lost everything and fought for nothing. But this was a man’s final fire.

As such, flames engulfed Levi and the man ever so quickly, and the last thing he saw was the slashing of spines from a beckoning soul.

A cool air descended upon the pair, and the man opened his eyes again-interesting that he would be scared of his own anger. Levi simply blinked, watching the shadows closely.

A fuzzy memory began to play. In an old wooden cabin, stood the man and his his two lifelong companions-the blond haired male and the raven haired female possesing the red scarf. The blond gripped on the shoulders of the man and the raven haired woman, hands reaching to the top of their heads. Levi could see the lines of age forming in their faces, the dust and blood that could never be washed off. But the blond boy smiled, and pulled the other 2 together. Their arms lifted and they embraced.

An echo gently surfaced. “Thank you, Eren”

Levi’s eyes widened for a mere _fraction_ of a second. He looked down, crooking his neck to peer at the soul once more.

Eren.

This is who the man was...this was his entire life.

Levi had never seen this before...souls usually slept, they never opened their eyes, shared their memories on Earth, never reached out to touch the face of their angel…but Levi understood. He understood all through God’s creation. It was as it is, as it was meant to be. There was no need to question it, even if it was never seen before.

But...it was time for Eren to rest now.

Eren lived a live of man made Hell. Now, he could relax, truly...never to live a life chained to the human evils. He was released, and Levi’s spirit rejoiced in God’s everlasting love to bring this man to his deserving slumber. Eren is valued simply because he had existed, and as Levi had come to know, life was the most beautiful thing to be created. Such was true with Eren’s soul. The beauty untouched, the passion untamed. Something in Levi pulsed, the heavenly fire stroked.

Their eyes stared, reaching each other’s irises. Eren’s were composed of kaleidoscopes, his emotions swirling and and turning like the lunar tides...and yet, in Levi’s arms...he seemed to be at peace. He did not smile, but the lines on his face were no longer prominent. His hand still remained.

Levi squeezed his hand. He did not have to speak, but Eren understood, and the tension in his soul was released.

They understood, what could’ve…

Eren tipped his head up, his lips parting ever so slightly. With a instinct greater than man would ever know, Levi ducked his head down to meet his mouth with Eren’s.

Blinding light swallowed them whole.

\---

_“Mom...It's great to see you again!”_

**Author's Note:**

> It is implied that Eren meets his mother after his death in Heaven.
> 
> This was spontaneous, but a joy to write. Hope you enjoyed <3


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